The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1887-09-23
The New MissisSipDian's Week
Day Sermon.
DON'T BE A HYPoCRITE.
The Beam and the Mote.

No, no, my son, dou't be a hypo-
critic. Roister and revel and give
sinful rein to the wicked and pas
sionate impulses of your youth, if
you must, and yet you may be for
given but | charge you, my son,
not TO cover your soul With the rot
ten slime of hypocrisy.
Because there is mote in the eve
of the good man striving with grid.
ed soul to live lite commensurate
with his high ideals-dOn't smile
vapid, bypocrincal, coutemptuous
smile aud endeavOr to make that
mote in his eye excuse the beam
that is iu your own.
My son, because the best of men
are only men after all and are a
compact of dross as well as gold,
when they eudeavOr to make other
men better aud throw a little more
purity iutO the world around them,
don't stand back aud struggle to
pull down the good they do, because
now and then their wearied feet slip
npon the rough places, and some
little sin OF theirs is written in
dark, sad letter III the Judgement
angels book.
When the Nazarinc said, "Why
beholdrst thou the mote that is in
thy brothers eye, but considerest
not the beam that is in thine own
eye," he meant not to put a sword
of sharpness in the mouths of hypo-
crites-he meant not that a man
must be as pure as the white light
that beats on the very throne of
God, bttorehe can lift up his fellow
man, and fight in the ranks of right.
eOusnesS.
No, my son, you never see good
man doing any noble work of re-
form, but that crowds of miserable
men, with sIn-reeking souls who
never even opened the lids of the
bi6le, will stand of and talk about
notes and beams, aud endeavor to
show that the good man has some
time committed some error, and
therefore has no righC to endeavor
to persuade others to go along with
him in the righteousness that he
really does.
A mam cannot be absolutely SIN
less; and if he waits for siulessDess
in himself before be works for right
eOuSuess, be will wait in idleness
through the diamond hours of
morning, the the golden hours of
noon, and the swift and precious
evening moments, until by and by
cOmeth the dawnless dark of ssthe
night wherein man shall work no
more.n
Instead OF man who himself has
erred, having no right to help re-
move the beam from the eye of his
brother, it is his duty, and if he
Ffhls to make the effort, he thereby
sius yet again, and verify say un-
TO you, my sou it shall be charged
against him both on earth and on
the great day.
For know my son, that God has
granted that even the bumblest,
the poorest aud most wretched, may
do good deed aud help a brother
on the rough road of life, and that
even Magdalene may wash the
feet of Christ.
When IA man is striving aud toll
ing to rid the world of a great curse
like the liquor traffic, there are
men With beslial hearts aud por.
cine souls, who will stand back aud
SuarlIugly refer to the fact that he
once fell by The wayside under the
wine'scrimsOn spell, aud therefore
has no right TO attempt to take the
temptation out of the pathway Of
others.
When the thief and murderer are
accused OF their crimes, 1t is world
old dodge of theirs to point out the
peccaGlIllOes and weaknesses of
their accuser, aud tell him that he
must first cast the beam out of his
own eve.
Amy culprit can cast this into the
teeth of the best men laboring in
the best of causes. But it is no ar
gument, my son.
If you look closely enough, my
sou, you eau find tho macculation
aud the blOteh on the whitest OF
souls. So too, my son, you can 60
through life aud see on the glad,
sweet face Of the earth, only the !,
Jagged sharpness of stones, the yel-
low OF clay aud the worms that
crawl, aud never glimpse the golden
u iry of autumn bOskage or the fai-
~ fairness OF ITS vernal blossoms.
But don't do this-don't, don't do
II, nv son.